Sports
Newsday
ANTIGUA and Barbuda Falcons coach, the Englishman Paul Nixon, has blamed Cricket West Indies for not informing him that Justin Greaves, the Barbadian batting all-rounder, was injured. He said that their attitude was disrespectful and unprofessional. After having suited up for seven games as of 27/8, it seems that Nixon has suddenly realised that Greaves is missing.
In the first seven scheduled games, his team lost three and won three, and one was abandoned for bad weather. All of a sudden, the coach seems to think that the reason his team lost the seventh match is through the absence of Greaves. Is this coach for real?
A few weeks ago, after Greaves and Shai Hope had that magnificent partnership of 110 for the seventh wicket against Pakistan, Greaves pulled up injured.Because of this, he has not played a single game for the Falcons. He missed six of seven; the other was a no-result.
In all this drivel, though it’s a useful cricketer that Nixon is referring to, he’s no Garfield Sobers. As a coach, his lack of courtesy is appalling. Before the first game was played, this coach didn’t miss someone who, in his eyes, is a superstar. And, immediately after the game against the Trinbago Knight Riders, after being soundly beaten, he comes with this unbelievably ‘sour grapes’ approach to complain that he’s missing Greaves, although he won three previous games without him, he wants to blame CWI for one below par team performance?
I am a qualified cricket coach and I sympathise with coaches a lot of times as it is a tough job that requires, not only the rudiments of the sport, but also the necessary psychological input so vital to the confidence, attitude and the mood of the players, in order to achieve success.
However, in this case, it is difficult to extend any sympathy for Nixon, as he ought to know better before uttering public statements when in charge of a team in a highly recognised international tournament. His chatter was unbecoming of a coach in a popular, recognised cricket contest with many international players. He should keep those thoughts to himself and discuss them with his management committee. Certainly don’t swing out there not knowing whose ears you’ll be attracting.
Nixon must understand that he is merely the coach and his job would be to enquire about the players in his squad to ensure that everyone’s fit, or if unfit, get an update from his medical team. It’s his position to check these things. One doesn’t wait for a good licking in the seventh game to recognise the fact that someone’s missing. His bitterness should be aimed at his committee, and not at the CWI, who are in charge of the running of the competition and it’s not their responsibility to be aware of whether the players are available or not, because of injury.
His team won a good game on August 20 and TKR have had a bad record against the Falcons in the past; therefore, it was expected in this return game in Trinidad that the Falcons would cruise to victory. However, the Knight Riders enjoyed one of their better days and won convincingly.
Nixon came over as a sore loser and needs to improve that attitude if he’s going to enjoy a successful career. It’s sad to witness a past cricketer with such a disposition. Who is Paul Nixon, a coach, to criticise the management of WI cricket about a player’s injury and refer to them as disrespectful and unprofessional? He was impertinent and unethical!
Dwayne Bravo, coach of the TKR team, has the proper attitude to encourage players on his team. With his experience, he knows how to motivate and he has learnt his lessons well with the success he gained throughout his years of playing successfully. I won’t go into the number of times he was victimised through nepotism and jealousy, never allowing these negative forces to upset his equilibrium.
He is coaching the way he approached his cricket, with a positive force and a winning outlook. His natural inclination to communication, which harnessed his skills as a stage performer, augurs well for his advising the cricketers in his charge to function above the level they’re accustomed to, and that is what good, efficient coaching is all about. He has the personality to guide young cricketers in the right way to being winners by always thinking of winning.
